Communication of application transactions on a radio link

ABSTRACT

An application transaction ( 310 ) comprised in a payload section ( 302 ) of at least one data unit ( 300 ) is identified. In response to identifying the application transaction ( 310 ), allocation of radio resources for transmission of the at least one data unit ( 300 ) on a radio link is controlled.

TECHNICAL FIELD

Various embodiments relate to a method comprising an applicationtransaction and controlling allocation of radio resources in response toidentifying the application transaction. Various embodiments relate to acorresponding device.

BACKGROUND

Transmission service agreements provide a guaranteed quality of service(QoS) to subscribers of a radio network such as a cellular network.Typically, transmission service agreements specify the QoS in terms of aguaranteed bit rate (GBR). E.g., in the Third Generation Partnership(3GPP) Long Term Evolution (LTE) radio access technology (RAT), the GBRis defined in terms of bits per second, see 3GPP Technical Specification(TS) 3GPP Technical Specification (TS) V13.6.0 (2015 December) Chapter6.1.7.

The GBR typically specifies the likelihood that a certain bit rate isachieved. E.g., the GBR may specify that a certain bit rate is achievedfor a certain percentage of communication instances and/or a certainfraction of time. E.g., the GBR may specify that a bit rate of 1 Mbps isachieved 99.5% of the time. In such a scenario it is possible that lessthan 1 Mbps is provided during 0.5% of the time.

Such an on-average definition of the GBR imposes certain drawbacks andrestrictions. E.g., where deviations to lower bit rates are possible dueto the on-average definition of the GBR, it is possible that theconnectivity of an application temporarily suffers. E.g., wheretemporarily insufficient radio resources are allocated for transmissionof data units associated with the application, connectivity of theapplication may be disturbed.

To ensure connectivity for applications, in some scenarios so-calledoverprovisioning is employed. Overprovisioning relates to preemptivelyallocating radio resources with certain headroom or buffer-range suchthat individual atomic functions of an application (applicationtransactions) are likely to be successfully communicated during thecertain duration. Overprovisioning can result in excess allocation ofradio resources, thereby degrading the overall performance of a radiolink, increasing system complexity, and increasing operating costs; onthe other hand side, by overprovisioning may help to achieve anon-average connectivity of the application, but may not guaranteesuccessful communication individual application transaction by its own.

SUMMARY

Accordingly, a need exists for advanced techniques of controllingallocation of radio resources which overcome or mitigate at least someof the above-identified drawbacks and restrictions.

This need is met by the features of the independent claims. Thedependent claims define embodiments.

According to various embodiments, a method comprises identifying anapplication transaction. A payload section of at least one data unitcomprises the application transaction. The method further comprises, inresponse to identifying the application transaction: controllingallocation of radio resources for transmission of the at least one dataunit on a radio link. The method further comprises executingcommunication of the application transaction via the radio link bytransmitting the at least one data unit using the radio resources.

According to various embodiments, a device is provided. The devicecomprises a memory. The memory is configured to store instructionsexecutable by at least one processor. The device further comprises theat least one processor. The at least one processor is configured toexecute the instructions to perform: identifying an applicationtransaction comprised in a payload section of at least one data unit;and, in response to identifying the application transaction: controllingallocation of radio resources for transmission of the at least one dataunit on the radio link; and executing communication of the applicationtransaction via the radio link by transmitting the at least one dataunit using the radio resources.

According to various embodiments, a device is provided. The devicecomprises a module for identifying an application transaction. A payloadsection of at least one data unit comprises the application transaction.The device further comprises a module for controlling allocation ofradio resources for transmission of the at least one data unit on aradio link in response to identifying the application transaction. Thedevice further comprises a module for executing communication of theapplication transaction via the radio link by transmitting the at leastone data unit using the radio resources.

According to various embodiments, a computer program product comprisesprogram code to be executed by at least one processor. Executing theprogram code causes the at least one processor to perform a method. Themethod comprises identifying an application transaction. A payloadsection of at least one data unit comprises the application transaction.The method further comprises, in response to identifying the applicationtransaction: controlling allocation of radio resources for transmissionof the at least one data unit on a radio link. The method furthercomprises executing communication of the application transaction via theradio link by transmitting the at least one data unit using the radioresources.

According to various embodiments, a computer program comprises programcode to be executed by at least one processor is provided. Executing theprogram code causes the at least one processor to perform a method. Themethod comprises identifying an application transaction. A payloadsection of at least one data unit comprises the application transaction.The method further comprises, in response to identifying the applicationtransaction: controlling allocation of radio resources for transmissionof the at least one data unit on a radio link. The method furthercomprises executing communication of the application transaction via theradio link by transmitting the at least one data unit using the radioresources.

It is to be understood that the features mentioned above and those yetto be explained below may be used not only in the respectivecombinations indicated, but also in other combinations or in isolationwithout departing from the scope of the invention.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1A schematically illustrates a cellular network comprising a radiolink according to various embodiments.

FIG. 1B schematically illustrates different frequency bands on whichradio resources can be allocated for transmission of data units via theradio link according to various embodiments.

FIG. 1C schematically illustrates a resource mapping comprisingallocated radio resources for transmission of data units via the radiolink of the cellular network according to various embodiments.

FIG. 2 schematically illustrates a protocol stack for transmission viathe radio link according to various embodiments.

FIG. 3 schematically illustrates a data unit comprising a header sectionand a payload section according to various embodiments, the payloadsection comprising an application transaction.

FIG. 4 schematically illustrates the application transaction accordingto various embodiments.

FIG. 5A schematically illustrates a transaction service agreementaccording to various embodiments, the application transaction specifyinga guaranteed number of executed communications of applicationtransactions via the radio link per time unit.

FIG. 5B schematically illustrates a number constraint for candidateapplication transactions specified by the transaction service agreementaccording to various embodiments.

FIG. 6 schematically illustrates a dependency of the time unit of thetransaction service agreement of FIG. 5A on the day of the week.

FIG. 7 schematically illustrates scheduling for a shared channel of theradio link according to various embodiments, the shared channelcomprising the radio resources used for transmission of data units.

FIG. 8A schematically illustrates scheduling for a shared channel of theradio link according to various embodiments, the shared channelcomprising the radio resources used for transmission of data units.

FIG. 8B schematically illustrates scheduling for a shared channel of theradio link according to various embodiments, the shared channelcomprising the radio resources used for transmission of data units.

FIG. 9 is a signaling diagram schematically illustrating processingdelays and a transmission time for transmission of data units via theradio link according to various embodiments.

FIG. 10 is a signaling diagram schematically illustrating provisioningof a transaction service agreement at a radio access node according tovarious embodiments.

FIG. 11 is a signaling diagram schematically illustrating an attachprocedure of a terminal at the radio access node according to variousembodiments.

FIG. 12 is a signaling diagram schematically illustrating identifying anapplication transaction comprised in a payload section of a data unitbased on receiving a control message comprising an indicator indicativeof the at least one data unit according to various embodiments.

FIG. 13 is a signaling diagram schematically illustrating identifying anapplication transaction comprised in a payload section of a data unitbased on inspecting at least one of a header section of the at least onedata unit and the payload section of the at least one data unitaccording to various embodiments.

FIG. 14 is a signaling diagram schematically illustrating controllingallocation of radio resources for transmission of a data unit on theradio link in response to identifying an application transactioncomprised in the payload section of the data unit according to variousembodiments.

FIG. 15 schematically illustrates a radio access node according tovarious embodiments.

FIG. 16 schematically illustrates a terminal according to variousembodiments.

FIG. 17 schematically illustrates a device according to variousembodiments.

FIG. 18 is a flowchart of a method according to various embodiments.

FIG. 19 is a flowchart of a method according to various embodiments.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF EMBODIMENTS

In the following, embodiments of the invention will be described indetail with reference to the accompanying drawings. It is to beunderstood that the following description of embodiments is not to betaken in a limiting sense. The scope of the invention is not intended tobe limited by the embodiments described hereinafter or by the drawings,which are taken to be illustrative only.

The drawings are to be regarded as being schematic representations andelements illustrated in the drawings are not necessarily shown to scale.Rather, the various elements are represented such that their functionand general purpose become apparent to a person skilled in the art. Anyconnection or coupling between functional blocks, devices, components,or other physical or functional units shown in the drawings or describedherein may also be implemented by an indirect connection or coupling. Acoupling between components may also be established over a wirelessconnection. Functional blocks may be implemented in hardware, firmware,software, or a combination thereof.

Hereinafter, techniques of controlling allocation of radio resources fortransmission of at least one data unit on a radio link of a network aredescribed.

The radio resources may correspond to time-frequency resourcescomprising one or more modulated symbols for transmitting data via theradio link. The radio resources may be associated with a shared channel.As such, the radio resources may be shared radio resources that areshared between a plurality of terminals attached to the network.Allocation of radio resources thus may serve the purpose of avoidingconflicts over the radio resources. The process of allocating radioresources to a plurality of terminals and distributing the radioresources across the plurality of terminals is sometimes referred to asscheduling. In some examples, properties of the shared channel may beadjusted based on performance characteristics of transmission on theradio link: e.g., indicators received from the plurality of terminalscan be considered. The process of adjusting properties of the sharedchannel based on the feedback of the plurality of terminals is sometimesreferred to as link adaptation.

The techniques described herein control the allocation of radioresources in response to identifying an application transaction on apayload section of at least one data unit. Controlling the allocationmay comprise monitoring and, if necessary, configuring link adaptationand/or scheduling. Thus, it is possible that link adaptation and/orscheduling is passively monitored in some examples in response toidentifying the application transaction; while, in further examples, itis possible that link adaptation and/or scheduling is activelycontrolled. Controlling the allocation of the radio resources can, thus,comprise allocating the radio resources.

Controlling the allocation in response to identifying the applicationtransaction may comprise controlling the allocation depending onproperties of the application transaction, the payload section of the atleast one data unit, and/or the at least one data unit. Controlling theallocation in response to identifying the application transaction may betriggered by identifying the application transaction.

In some examples, controlling may be for compliance of the communicationof the application transaction with the transaction service agreement.The transaction service agreement may specify QoS with respect to thecommunication of application transaction. Thus, if compared toconventional transmission service agreements, the QoS can be specifiedwith respect to the higher-layer application transaction. Thetransactions service agreement may specify, e.g., a guaranteed number ofexecuted communications of application transactions and, hence, maydefine a transaction success rate. The transaction service agreement mayspecify, e.g., a guaranteed number of executed communications ofapplication transactions per time unit; the time unit may be specified,thereby defining a time-to-execute. By means of the transaction serviceagreement it may be possible to specify a certain success rate for thecommunication of the application transactions. In may be possible tospecify latency requirements.

The application transaction may correspond to data associated with anapplication of one or more application layers. A single applicationtransaction may comprise one or more messages, e.g., a request messageand/or a response message. An application transaction may be transmittedand/or received (communicated) in uplink (UL) direction and/or indownlink (DL) direction. As such, an application transaction may beinitiated by a terminal attached to the network and/or a backend server.The application layers are typically upper layers of a protocol stack;as such, the application layers are typically not directly involved inover-the-air transmission. The application transaction may be an atomicfunction of the application. The application transaction, in a simplescenario, may comprise a request and a positive/negative response. Incase no response or a negative response is received, in some scenariosof the application transaction may considered to have failed; in such ascenario, a rollback can be implemented, the rollback canceling theeffect of the application transaction has had so-far. It may be possibleto use timeouts to determine whether a response is received or notreceived. E.g., a typical timeout duration of a right command of anapplication transaction can be in the order of 30 seconds beforeconsidering that the application transaction has failed. Such a timeoutcriterion can be described as a transaction time indicating the time ittakes to perform an application transaction. In case of sequentialapplication transactions, the inverse of the transaction time can bereferred to as transaction rate.

The application transaction may comprise a command or informationassociated with the application. E.g., the application transaction maycomprise an Hypertext Transfer Protocol (HTTP) command. E.g., theapplication transaction may comprise a request/response pair, e.g., anHTTP GET request/response pair (HTTP GET operation). The applicationtransaction may not comprise a speech sample, e.g., of a Voice over LTE(VoLTE) Service.

A data unit native to a lower layer—if compared to the applicationlayer—may comprise the application transaction. E.g., the data unit maybe native to a lower layer—if compared to the application layer—, thelower layer implementing the resource allocation. Examples of lowerlayers include a data link layer and a network layer.

For identifying the application transaction comprised in the payloadsection of the at least one data unit, different techniques (detectionschemes) may be employed. E.g., a detection scheme relying on deeppacket inspection (DPI) or shallow packet inspection (SPI) may beemployed. E.g., a header section and/or the payload section of the atleast one data unit may be inspected according to DPI and/or SPI. DPIand/or SPI may not be applicable or only applicable to a limited degreein case of encrypted traffic. Here, the payload section may be encryptedbased on an encryption key. In some examples, the encryption key may beavailable for performing DPI and/or SPI after, e.g., temporary,decryption. Alternatively or additionally, a detection scheme relying onexplicit control signaling indicative of the at least one data unitwhich comprises the application transaction can be implemented.

Various examples of the techniques described herein thus enable tologically link application transactions and lower-layer resourceallocation. In this sense, layer-based encapsulation may be overcome, atleast temporarily. The techniques described herein allow forimplementing an application relying on application transactions withsuperior connectivity. In particular, conformity with a transactionservice agreement may be ensured.

The techniques described herein may be applied in various use-cases. Anexample use-case is a business-to-business (B2B) system or an IT systemoperating based on the concept of application transactions. An exampleof a B2B transaction is a request from one company's server directed toa second company's server. E.g., such a request may relate toinformation queries, e.g., to list spare parts in a stock. A furtherexample use-case is an IT system transaction: a block of data can bewritten or read to or from a disk system of the backend. The write orread/response pair embodies an application transaction. A furtherexample use-case is the Internet of Things where a large amount ofdevices communicates. E.g., automation and/or surveillance devices canimplement application transaction-based services. Various examples maybe applied to Machine Type Communication (MTC).

FIG. 1 schematically illustrates an architecture of a cellular network100 which may be used for implementing the concepts as outlined above.FIG. 1 is an example disclosed in the context of the Third GenerationPartnership (3GPP) Long Term Evolution (LTE) for illustrative purposesonly. Similar techniques as disclosed herein can be readily applied tovarious kinds of 3GPP-specified networks, such as Global Systems forMobile Communications (GSM), Wideband Code Division Multiplex (WCDMA),General Packet Radio Service (GPRS), Enhanced Data Rates for GSMEvolution (EDGE), Enhanced GPRS (EGPRS), Universal MobileTelecommunications System (UMTS), and High Speed Packet Access (HSPA).Similar techniques may be applied to 3GPP 5G technology. However,operation of the network is not limited to the scenario of a cellularnetwork or a 3GPP-specified network. E.g., at least parts of the radiolink(s) of the wireless network could be operated according to theWireless Local Area Network (WLAN or Wi-Fi) radio access technology(RAT), Bluetooth, Near Field Communication, or satellite communication.

In FIG. 1, a terminal 130 is connected via E-UTRA RAT 113B to an radioaccess node embodied by an evolved NodeB (eNB) 112. The eNB 112 and theterminal 130 communicate using packetized traffic via a radio link 111.Various channels may be implemented on the radio link 111 for utilizingcommunication of data via the radio link 111. Such channels may includelogical channels. The channels may be associated with dedicatedtime-frequency radio resources on the radio link 111. The channels mayinclude a Physical DL Control Channel (PDCCH) corresponding to a DLcontrol channel, a Physical UL Control Channel (PUCCH) corresponding toan UL control channel, a Physical DL Shared Channel (PDSCH)corresponding to a DL payload channel, and a Physical UL Shared Channel(PUSCH) corresponding to a UL payload channel. The channels may alsoinclude a Physical Hybrid Automatic Repeat Request Indicator Channel(PHICH) usable for re-transmission control of payload data. For sharedchannels, radio resources may be shared between a plurality of terminalsattached to the cellular network 100 (not shown in FIG. 1A).

In FIG. 1, the terminal 130 is connected to a packet data network (PDN)backend 140 via a data bearer 150 (illustrated by the dotted line inFIG. 1) and to an access point node 141. The backend 140 may offer anapplication; the application may comprise the communication ofapplication transactions. E.g., the backend 140 may comprise cloudstorage, a database, etc.

E.g., the bearer 150 may be implemented by a plurality ofinterconnecting sub-bearers and/or secure tunnels facilitatingcommunication of data. E.g., the bearer 150 may be identified by anInternet Protocol (IP) address of the terminal 130. E.g., the bearer 150may be identified by a bearer identification (bearer ID). E.g., thebearer 150 may be identified by an IP address of an access point node141 and/or of the backend 140.

The bearer 150 is typically associated with a certain quality of service(QoS) requirement specified by a transmission service agreement 151.E.g., the QoS requirement may be specified by a QoS class identifier(QCI) associated with the bearer 150. The QoS requirement, inparticular, may relate to a GBR and/or a latency. E.g., the latency maybe specified in-between certain layers of the protocol stack between twonodes of the cellular network 100. E.g., the latency may correspond to adelay between requesting data associated with the service and receivingthe requested data.

The bearer 150 may carry packetized data comprising payload data and/orcontrol data. The payload data may relate to data used by higher layersof a protocol stack, e.g., an application layer. The payload data maycorrespond to the application transactions communicated between theterminal 130 and the backend 140. The payload data may be user-specificfor a subscriber associated with the terminal 130 connectable to thecellular network 100 and/or the bearer 150.

FIG. 1 further schematically illustrates the evolved packet system (EPS)architecture of the LTE RAT. The EPS comprises an evolved packet core(EPC) as a core network 113A and the E-UTRA 113B.

The reference point—typically also called “interface”—implemented by theradio link 111 between the terminal 130 and the eNB 112 operatesaccording to the LTE-uU protocol. The bearer 150 may pass along theradio link 111.

The eNB 112 is connected to a Serving Gateway (SGW) 117 implementing agateway between the radio access network and the core network. As such,the SGW 117 may route and forward data and may act as a mobility anchorof the user plane during handovers of the terminal 130 between differentcells of the cellular network 100. The reference point between the eNB112 and the SGW 117 operates according to the S1-U protocol.

The SGW 117 is connected via a reference point operating according tothe S5 protocol to a further gateway node implemented by, e.g., a PacketData Network Gateway (PGW) 118. The PGW 118 serves as a point of exitand point of entry of the cellular network 100 for data packets of thebearer 150 towards the backend 140. As such, the PGW is connected withthe access point node 141 of the backend 140 via a reference pointoperating according to the SGi protocol.

Access functionalities of the terminal 130 to the backend 140, e.g.,access functionality to the bearer 150, may be controlled by a controlnode implemented by a Mobility Management Entity (MME) 116. The MME 116is connected via a reference point operating according to the S1-MMEprotocol with the eNB 112. Further, the MME 116 is connected via areference point operating according to the S11 protocol with the SGW117. E.g., the MME 116 may check whether the subscriber associated withthe terminal 130 is authorized to establish the bearer 150 by accessingthe access point node 141.

Policy and charging functionality of the bearer 150 is controlled by acontrol node 119 implemented for example by a Policy and Charging RulesFunction (PCRF) 119. The PCRF 119 is connected via a reference pointoperating according to the Gx protocol with the PGW 118. The PGW 118 mayimplement a Policy and Charging Policy and Charging Enforcement Function(PCEF) which is controlled by Policy and Charging Control (PCC) rulesprovided by the PCRF 119 via the Gx protocol.

An operator node 171 (hereinafter: operator) is configured tocommunicate with the various nodes 112, 116, 117, 118, 119, 141, 140,130. The operator 171 can configure operation of the nodes 112, 116,117, 118, 119, 141, 140, 130.

For transmission via the radio link 111, radio resources are allocatedby the eNB 112. In particular, where a plurality of terminals isattached to the cellular network 100 via the eNB 112, the eNB 112performs scheduling and link adaptation in order to optimize throughputof transmission on the radio link 111 across the plurality of terminals.

Radio resources may be allocated in different frequency bands. FIG. 1Billustrates examples with respect to allocating radio resources indifferent frequency bands 161, 162. In the example of FIG. 1B, thefrequency bands 161, 162 are non-overlapping. The frequency bands 161,162 correspond to different carriers. FIG. 1B corresponds to a CarrierAggregation (CA) scenario. E.g., the different frequency bands 161, 162can have a different bandwidth. In the 3GPP LTE RAT, the bandwidth mayamount to one of the following: 1.4 MHz; 3 MHz; 5 MHz; 10 MHz; 15 MHz;and 20 MHz. The different frequency bands 161, 162 may be selectable forallocation of radio resources.

FIG. 1C illustrates aspects with respect to allocating radio resources406 in in different frequency bands 163. In the example of FIG. 1C,allocating of radio resources 406 in a single carrier, e.g.,corresponding to one of the frequency bands 161, 162, is illustrated. Inthe example of FIG. 1C, the different radio resources 406 correspond toresource elements—e.g., in the case of 3GPP LTE RAT having a bandwidthof 180 kHz and corresponding to a single Orthogonal Frequency DivisionMultiplex (OFDM) symbol. Resource elements of a given frequency 163define a sub-carrier of the respective carrier. In the example of FIG.1C, a certain sub-carrier is selected for allocation of radio resources406 (illustrated by the dashed filling in FIG. 1C).

FIG. 2 illustrates aspects with respect to a protocol stack 290implemented by the eNB 112 and the terminal 130 for communication ofapplication transactions and transmission of data units via the radiolink 111.

Highest in hierarchy is the application layer 280. While in the exampleof FIG. 2 a single application as illustrated, it is possible that aplurality of application layers are stacked upon each other. In someexamples, the application layer 280 may implement user-interfacing. Theapplication layer 280 may specify protocols and interface methods usedby hosts such as the terminal 130 and a server of the backend 140. Theapplication layer 280 may implement applications which rely onapplication transactions. Examples of applications comprise, but are notlimited to: HTTP; File Transfer Protocol (FTP); Telnet; Secure HTTP(SHTTP); and Simple Object Access Protocol (SOAP).

Next in hierarchy is to transport layer 281, sometimes also referred toas network layer. The transport layer implements a network protocol.Typically, the transport layer is independent of the particulartransmission medium. An example of the transport layer 281 comprises theInternet layer implementing the Internet protocol (IP), see, e.g.,Internet Engineering Task Force (IETF) Request For Changes (RFC) 791(1981).

The upper layers 280, 281 correspond to layer 3-7 according to the OpenSystems Interconnection (OSI)-model. The lower layers 292-295 correspondto layers 1 and 2 according to the OSI-model, i.e., the physical layerand the data link layer. In the example of the 3GPP LTE RAT, layers 1and 2 are embodied as the Packet Data Convergence Protocol (PDCP) layer292; the Radio Link Control (RLC) layer 293; the Medium Access Control(MAC) protocol 294; and the physical layer 295.

The physical layer 295 performs digital and analog signal processing fortransmission via the radio link 111. The physical layer 295 forms thebottom of the protocol stack 290. Details of the physical layer 295 aredescribed in 3GPP TS 36.211 V.12.8.0 (2015), 36.212 V.12.7.0 (2016), and36.213 V.12.8.0 (2016).

The MAC layer 294 controls the operation of the physical layer 295 andperforms link adaptation and scheduling for transmission via the radiolink 111. The MAC layer 294 may thus perform allocation of radioresources 406. Details of the MAC layer 294 are specified in 3GPP TS36.321, V.12.8.0 (2016).

The RLC layer 293 maintains the data link between 2 devices and, assuch, controls operation of the data bearer 150. Details of the RLClayer 293 are specified in 3GPP TS 36.322 V.12.3.0 (2015).

The PDCP layer processes IP datagrams to perform such operations ascompression and/or security encryption. Details of the PDCP layer 292are described in 3GPP TS 36.323 V.12.5.0 (2016).

FIG. 3 illustrates aspects with respect to a data unit 300 comprising anapplication transaction 310 and the payload section 302. In the exampleof FIG. 3, the data unit 300 is embodied as an IP datagrams. In otherexamples, the data unit may be embodied by different instances, e.g., bya RLC Packet Data Unit (PDU) in a scenario where the applicationtransaction 310 is identified in the MAC layer 294.

In the example of FIG. 3, the application transaction 310 is comprisedin the payload section 302 of a single data unit 300. In other examples,it is possible that due to fragmentation the application transaction 310is split and distributed across a plurality of data units 300.

The payload section 302 may be encrypted. Encryption may be based on theapplication layer 280 or transport layer such as the Transport ControlProtocol (TCP) layer or an upper part of the IP layer 281. Exampleencryption protocols comprise: SHTTP; Secure Sockets Layer (SSL); andTransport Layer Security (TLS).

The data unit 300 also comprises a header section 301. In case of thedata unit 300 being embodied as the IP datagram, the header section 301includes: the source IP address; the destination IP address; and afragment offset. E.g., where the application transaction is distributedacross a plurality of IP datagrams, the fragment offset can beindicative of the relationship of the subject IP datagram with respectto a further IP datagrams comprising other fragments of the applicationtransaction.

FIG. 4 illustrates aspects with respect to the application transaction310. In the example of FIG. 4, the application transaction 310 is anHTTP: GET operation. E.g., in the example of FIG. 4 the applicationtransaction 310 can comprise a request and a response (not illustratedin FIG. 4).

The specific information content of the application transaction is notgermane for the functioning of the various embodiments described herein.As such, it is possible that the different implementations of widevariety of different kinds and types of application transactions 310 areemployed. It is even possible to employ application transaction 310which relate to multiple application layers stacked upon each other. Anexample would be a SOAP operation communicated via the HTTP protocol.

Hereinafter, techniques of controlling allocation of radio resources 406in response to identifying an application transaction 310 in the payloadsection 302 of at least one data unit 300 are described. The techniquesof controlling resource allocation enable to allocate such radioresources 406 for transmission of the at least one data unit 300 whichensure that connectivity of the application associated with theapplication transaction 310 meets certain targets.

One example of a target for connectivity is a transaction serviceagreement. FIG. 5A illustrates aspects with respect to a transactionservice agreement 500. FIG. 5A plots the application transactions 310that are required to be communicated via the radio link 111 (candidateapplication transactions) as a function of time. In the plot of FIG. 5A,each bubble corresponds to a transaction service agreement 310. In theplot of FIG. 5A, the diameter of each bubble corresponds to the datasize 508 of the transaction service agreement 310 (e.g., larger bubblescorrespond to a larger size).

The transaction service agreement 500 can specify one or moreperformance characteristics that are guaranteed to a user or subscriberwith respect to the communication of application transactions 310. It ispossible that the one or more performance characteristics are guaranteedto the user on average. In further examples, it is possible that the oneor more performance characteristics are guaranteed to the user perapplication transaction; in such a scenario, the transaction serviceagreement 500 may not rely on an on-average definition of theperformance characteristics, but guarantee the performancecharacteristic for each individual application transaction 310. Also,mixed implementations are conceivable where for a first performancecharacteristic an on-average definition applies, while for a secondperformance characteristic a per application transaction definitionapplies.

In various examples, various kinds and types of performancecharacteristics can be implemented for the transaction service agreement500. The kind and type of the performance characteristic is not germanefor the functioning of the various examples described herein. E.g., thenumbers, sizes, latency, and/or success rate of communication ofapplication transactions may be guaranteed.

An example of the performance characteristic is a guaranteed number ofexecuted communications of application transactions 310 via the radiolink 111 per time unit. E.g., the performance characteristic maycorrespond to a guaranteed number of executed communication attempts forapplication transactions 310, i.e., irrespective of whether therespective communication attempt has been successfully completed or hasbeen acknowledged. In further examples, it is possible that theperformance characteristic corresponds to a guaranteed number ofsuccessfully completed communications of application transactions 310.Here, a communication of an application transaction 310 may beconsidered as successfully completed at a point in time where theapplication transaction 310 is available to the respective applicationlayer 280 of the recipient. Alternatively, the communication of theapplication transaction 310 may be considered successfully completed ata point in time where receipt of the application transaction 310 isacknowledged. Different definitions of a successfully completedcommunication of the application transaction 310 may be applicable.

If the transaction service agreement 500 employs an on-averagedefinition for the guaranteed number of executed communications ofapplication transaction 310, then it is possible that for some instancesof communicating application transactions 310 the guaranteed number isnot met. However, in other examples, it is also possible that thetransaction service agreement 500 specifies the time unit 501 (cf. FIG.5A); such a scenario may correspond to guaranteeing communication of therespective number of application transactions 310 for each and everyinstance of the time unit 501.

Such a scenario is illustrated in the example of FIG. 5A. In the exampleof FIG. 5A, a single communication event of an application transaction310 is guaranteed per time unit 501. Thereby, a time-to-execute can beguaranteed. As can be seen from the example of FIG. 5A, for eachinstance of the time unit 501, communication of a single applicationtransaction 310 is executed. Thus, in the example of FIG. 5A,communication of the application transactions 310 is in compliance withthe transaction service agreement 500.

FIG. 5A illustrates the time unit 501 qualitatively. The quantitativedimensioning of the time unit 501 is not germane for the functioning ofthe various examples described herein. In the various examples, thequantitative dimensioning of the time unit 501 may widely vary. E.g., insome examples, the time unit 501 may be dimensioned comparably small,e.g., in the order of a couple of milliseconds, tens or hundreds ofmilliseconds, seconds or minutes. Here, the number of executedcommunications of application transactions 310 is guaranteed with acomparably fine granularity. In other examples, the time unit 501 may bedimensioned comparably large, e.g., in the order of a couple of minutes,hours, days, or even weeks. Here, the number of executed communicationsof application transactions 310 is guaranteed with a comparably coarsegranularity.

E.g., an example of an transaction service agreement would be toguarantee communication of an application transaction having a size ofup to 100 kB within a time duration of 0.5 seconds at a 99.999%likelihood; this corresponds to an on-average definition. This examplecorresponds to the concept of defining the time unit, i.e., requiringthat the data bearer 150 provides a data rate of 1600 Kbps per 0.5seconds. This is different to providing an on-average data rate of 800Kbps (average data rate if one transaction per second are communicated)or 3,200 Kbps (average data rate if 2 transactions per second arecommunicated), i.e., without specifying the time unit. Thus, in general,the transaction service agreement may specify x bytes of data within atime period y.

E.g., a further example of a transaction agreement would be to guaranteethat communication of an application transaction of 100 kB in size doesnot require more than 0.5 seconds. E.g., a further example of atransaction agreement would be to guarantee that the communication of anapplication transaction of variable size—e.g., with a maximum sizeconstraint being specified—does not require more than 0.6 seconds. Suchtime durations are examples only and may vary in differentimplementations.

Different implementations of the transaction service agreements may beclassified into QoS classes. E.g., different classes of transactionservice agreements may correspond to a different guaranteed number ofexecuted communications, different time units, or different constraintsspecified by the transaction service agreement 500. Thus, properties ofdifferent transaction service agreements may be pre-provisioned, e.g.,in parameterized form.

FIG. 5A further illustrates aspects with respect to constraintsspecified by the transaction service agreement 500. It is possible thatthe transaction service agreement 500 specifies one or more constraintswhich are to be met by candidate application transactions 310 in orderto be eligible for communication under the transaction service agreement500. If an individual application transaction 310 and/or an ensemble ofa plurality of application transactions 310 does not meet one or morerespective constraints, it is possible that communication of therespective application transaction 310 and/or the respective pluralityof application transactions 310 is not subject to the transactionservice agreement 500; then, the communication of the applicationtransaction 310 and/or the plurality of application transactions 310 isnot required to be in compliance with the transaction service agreement500.

The kind and type of the one or more constraints specified by thetransaction service agreement 500 is not germane for the functioning ofthe various examples described herein. Thus, various examples can relyon a wide variety of different kinds and types of constraints.Constraints may, e.g., relate to the number, size, frequency ofoccurrence, and/or content of transaction service agreements.

One example of a constraint that may be specified by the transactionservice agreement 500 is a size constraint. From FIG. 5A it is apparentthat there may be a distribution of sizes 508 of the candidateapplication transactions 310. It is possible that the transactionservice agreement 500 specifies a size constraint for candidateapplication transactions 310. E.g., the size constraint could specify amaximum size that cannot be exceeded by individual applicationtransactions 310 for which the candidate transaction service agreement500 is to be applicable. E.g., the size constraint could specify a sizedistribution that needs to be met by an ensemble of a plurality ofcandidate application transactions 310 for which the transaction serviceagreement 500 is to be applicable. E.g., the size constraint couldspecify a maximum size and/or a size distribution in terms of bytes.

A further example of a constraint that may be specified by thetransaction service agreement 500 is a timing constraint. From FIG. 5Ait is apparent that the application transactions 310 occur as a bunchedset 510; the bunched set 510 comprises an immediate repetition of aplurality of application transactions 310. E.g., such an immediaterepetition of a plurality of application transactions 310 may be presentwhere a plurality of candidate application transactions 310 are queuedfor communication via the radio link 111 during a time duration residingon the a timescale which is in the same order of magnitude as the timeunit 501. In some examples, the timing constraint 502 could specify aminimum duration between subsequent bunched sets.

FIG. 5B illustrates aspects with respect to the transaction serviceagreement 500 specifying the timing constraint 502 for candidateapplication transactions 310. In the example of FIG. 5B the timeduration 502 between subsequent bunched set 510 according to a timingconstraint is illustrated. Different actions may be taken if thecandidate application transactions 310 do not fulfill the timingconstraint. E.g., communication of excess application transactions 310may be delayed or communication of excess application transactions 310may be executed without ensuring compliance with the transaction serviceagreement 500.

In the example of FIG. 5B, two bunched sets 510 of candidate applicationtransactions 310 are queued for communication via the radio link 111.Here, it is possible that the maximum number of candidate applicationtransactions 310 per bunched set 510 is specified by a numberconstraint. If the number of candidate application transactions 310 of abunched set 510 exceeds that maximum number it is possible that all orexcess candidate application transactions 310 are not eligible forcommunication under the transaction service agreement 500.

As can be seen, a wide variety of different kinds and types ofconstraints may be specified by the transaction service agreement 500.Examples include the above-described size constraint, timing constraint,and number constraint. In the various examples, it is possible that theconstraints define a hard limit or a soft limit. A hard limit mayprevent an excess candidate application transaction 310 not fulfillingthe respective constraint to be eligible for communication under thetransaction service agreement 500 under any circumstance. A soft limitmay correspond to an overusage criterion for temporarily breaching theconstraint. Here, under certain circumstances defined by the overusagecriterion the excess candidate application transaction 310 may notfulfill the respective constraint, but be eligible for communicationunder the transaction service agreement 500 nonetheless. E.g., theoverusage criterion may specify a certain fraction or percentage ofcandidate application transactions 310 that can be communicated underthe transaction service agreement 500 even though they violate one ormore constraints. E.g., the overusage criterion may specify a toleranceof communicating candidate application transactions 310 which violateone or more constraints under the transaction service agreement 500.

With respect to FIGS. 5A and 5B, performance characteristics guaranteedby the transaction service agreement 500 and constraints specified bythe transaction service agreement 500 have been discussed. In someexamples, it is possible that the transaction service agreement 500statically specifies at least some of the performance characteristicsand/or at least some of the constraints; i.e., it is possible that thetransaction service agreement 500 does not specify a time-dependency ofthe at least some of the performance characteristics and/or the at leastsome of the constraints. In further examples, it is possible that thetransaction service agreement 500 specifies a time-dependency for atleast some of the performance characteristics and/or for at least someof the constraints.

FIG. 6 illustrates aspects with respect to time-dependency of the timeunit 501; this is an illustrative example of the time-dependency of aproperty of the transaction service agreement 500, but similartechniques may be readily applied to other properties of the transactionservice agreement 500.

As can be seen, in the example of FIG. 6, the time unit 501 isdimensioned smaller for weekdays and larger for Saturdays and Sundays.At the same time, it is assumed that the guaranteed number of executedcommunications of application transactions 310 is specified by thetransaction service agreement 500 remains constant: This results in thetransaction service agreement guaranteeing a larger number of executedcommunications of application transactions 310 per time on weekdays ifcompared to Saturdays and Sundays.

While in the example of FIG. 6 the time-dependency of the time unit501/the guaranteed number of executed communications of applicationtransactions 310 is illustrated, in other examples it is possible thatother performance characteristics guaranteed by the transaction serviceagreement 500 and/or constraints specified by the transaction serviceagreement 500 exhibit a respective time-dependency.

In the example of FIG. 6, the time-dependency is implemented on agranularity of days. However, in other examples, a finer or coarsergranularity may be implemented for the time-dependency. E.g., atime-dependency on the timescale of a couple of milliseconds, tenths ofmilliseconds, hundreds of milliseconds, seconds, minutes, hours, weeks,or months could be implemented. It is also possible to implement variousqualitative dependencies. E.g., the time unit 501 may be dimensionedwith respect to the transaction time associated with the respectiveapplication transaction 310.

In the various examples, allocation of radio resources 406 fortransmission of at least one data unit 300 comprising an applicationtransaction 310 in the payload section thereof is controlled. Suchcontrol of the allocation can be for compliance of the communication ofthe application transaction 310 with the transaction service agreement500.

FIG. 7 illustrates aspects of controlling allocation of radio resources406 for transmission of the at least one data unit 300. In the exampleof FIG. 7 the bit rate 401 dedicated on a shared channel to thetransmission of data units 300 associated with a certain subscriber isplotted as a function of time.

t0 marks the point in time at which the data unit 300 comprising theapplication transaction 310 is queued for transmission, e.g., arrives ata transmission buffer. As can be seen, only at a point in time t1 thebit rate 401 starts to increase, first slowly until t2 and then fasterbetween t2 and t3. The latency t0-t1, as well as the slope of the bitrate curve may be due to limits imposed by link adaptation and/orscheduling. Examples include the requirement to transmit a DL assignmentand/or an UL grant, freeing resources otherwise occupied, time toexecute control signaling, lead time to modify the data bearer, ramp-uptime of internal processing, TCP opening window negotiation, processingdelays, constraints imposed by a transmission service agreement, etc.

t3 corresponds to the point in time at which the time unit 501 ends: itis thus guaranteed by the transaction service agreement 500 thatcommunication of the application transaction 310 is completed by t3. Inthe example of FIG. 7, not all available resources between t0 and t3 areused for transmission of the at least one data unit 300 comprising theapplication transaction 310; only a fraction of all available radioresources 406 is used (illustrated by the dashed filling in FIG. 7),because of the finite size of the at least one data unit 300. Within theavailable radio resources 406, transmission of the at least one dataunit 300 comprising the application transaction 310 is prioritized overfurther traffic. This allows to execute communication of the applicationtransaction 310 comprised in the at least one data unit 300 beforeexpiry of the time unit 501. Controlling of the allocation of the radioresources can thus take into account the size of the at least one dataunit 300.

Because communication of the application transaction 310 comprised inthe at least one data unit 300 is executed before expiry of the timeunit 501, in the example of FIG. 7 it is not required to actively adjustlink adaptation and/or scheduling for the shared channel of the radiolink 111. Rather, controlling of allocation of the radio resources 406in the example of FIG. 7 may be restricted to monitoring link adaptationand/or scheduling for the shared channel of the radio link 111; saidmonitoring yields that scheduling—according to reference implementationsand/or based on a transmission service agreement 151—already allows forcommunication of the application transaction 310 in compliance with thetransaction service agreement 500. Thereby, beyond such passivelymonitoring there is no need to actively interfere with the linkadaptation and/or scheduling performed based on the transmission serviceagreement 151, e.g., by actively allocating the radio resources 406 forcompliance with the transaction service agreement 500. Said monitoringmay take into account the size of the at least one data unit 310. E.g.,said monitoring may compare the size of the at least one data unit 300with a throughput estimate that can be derived from operating propertiesof scheduling and/or link adaptation, e.g., from the transmissionservice agreement 151.

FIG. 8A illustrates aspects of controlling allocation of radio resources406 for transmission of the at least one data unit 300. FIG. 8Agenerally corresponds to the scenario of FIG. 7. However, from acomparison of FIGS. 7 and 8A, two points are apparent: first, thelatency t0-t1 is longer for the scenario of FIG. 8A if compared to thescenario of FIG. 7; second, the time unit 501 is dimensioned shorter forthe scenario of FIG. 8A if compared to the scenario of FIG. 7.

Conventional link adaptation and/or scheduling—e.g., in conformity witha transmission service agreement 151—would result in a breach of thetransaction service agreement 500 (in FIG. 8A, the conventionalinclination of the bit rate 401 starting from t1 is illustrated by thedotted line). This can be identified by monitoring link adaptationand/or scheduling; here, the size of the at least one data unit 300 canbe compared with a throughput estimate that takes into account thelatency t0-t1 and the typical increase of the bit rate 401 starting fromt0, e.g., based on the transmission service agreement 151.

Because of this finding, link adaptation and/or scheduling are activelyadjusted basedo n the transaction service agreement. This comprisesallocating the radio resources 406 based on the specified time unit 501.As can be seen from a comparison of FIGS. 8A and 7, by allocating theradio resources 406 based on the specified time unit 501, a fasterincrease in the bit rate 401 starting from the point in time t1 isachieved; this allows to execute communication of the applicationtransaction 310 comprised in the at least one data unit 300 beforeexpiry of the time unit 501 (illustrated by the dashed filling in FIG.8A).

FIG. 8B illustrates aspects of controlling allocation of radio resources406 for transmission of the at least one data unit 300. FIG. 8Bgenerally corresponds to the scenario of FIG. 8A. However, from acomparison of FIGS. 8A and 8B, it is apparent that a bit rate constraint570 of the transmission service agreement 151 (illustrated by thehorizontal dashed line) affects the possibility of executingcommunication of the application transaction 310 comprised in the atleast one data unit 300 prior to expiry of the time unit 501. The bitrate constraint 570 specifies a maximum allowed bit rate 401 that can beassigned to the terminal 130/the respective subscriber as part ofscheduling. E.g., the bit rate constraint 570 may ensure balancedtraffic between a plurality of terminals sharing the radio resources onthe shared channel.

Generally, it is possible that said controlling of allocation of theradio resources 406 depends on, both, the size of the at least one dataunit 300 comprising the application transaction 310, as well as on thebit rate constraint 570. E.g., said monitoring of scheduling and/or linkadaptation may be based on the size of the at least one data unit 300comprising the application transaction 310 and the bit rate constraint570. By considering, both, the size of the at least one data unit 300,as well as the bit rate constraint 570, it is possible to accuratelypredict whether communication of the application transaction 310 can beexecuted in compliance with the transaction service agreement 500.

Referring again to the example of FIG. 8B: here, it is not possible toexecute communication of the application transaction 310 in compliancewith the transaction service agreement 500, i.e., before expiry of thetime unit 501, if the bit rate constraint 570 is treated as a hardlimit. In the example of FIG. 8B, the bit rate constraint 570 isbreached. Breaching is exceptionally allowed, because a traffic load onthe shared channel of the radio link 111 which comprises the radioresources 406 is comparably low, i.e., below a certain threshold.Because the traffic load is comparably low, temporarily breaching thebit rate constraint 570 does not result in drawbacks for furthersubscribers accessing the shared radio resources on the shared channel.On the other hand, communication of the application transaction 310 canbe executed in compliance with the transaction service agreement 500.

In the example of FIG. 8B, said controlling of allocation of the radioresources 406 takes into account the bit rate constraint 570 imposed bythe transmission service agreement 151. In further examples, it is alsopossible to take into account further or other constraints specified bythe transmission service agreement 151, e.g., a size constraint or thetiming constraint.

In still further examples, it is possible that the transaction serviceagreement 500 overrules at least some constraints specified by thetransmission service agreement 151 by default. In such a scenario, it ispossible that the allocating the radio resources 406 for compliance ofthe communication of the application transaction 310 with thetransaction service agreement 500 does not take into account thetransmission service agreement 151.

With respect to FIGS. 7, 8A, 8B, examples have been described where thetime-domain behavior of resource allocation is controlled. Alternativelyor additionally to such examples, it is also possible to control thefrequency-domain behavior of resource allocation. E.g., where there is aplurality of candidate frequency bands 161, 162, 163 available forallocation of radio resources, it is possible to select at least onefrequency band from the plurality of candidate frequency bands 161, 162,163 for allocation of the radio resources that are used for transmissionof the at least one data unit comprising the application transaction.When selecting the at least one frequency band 161, 162, 163 forallocation of the radio resources, different considerations may be takeninto account. E.g., different frequency bands may be associated withperformance characteristics. In some examples, it is possible to selectat least one frequency band from the plurality of candidate frequencybands which is associated with a high performance characteristic forallocation of the radio resources. By selecting the frequency bands 161,162, 163, it becomes possible to ensure communication of the applicationtransaction 310 in compliance with the transaction service agreement500. Further, traffic balancing may be achieved, avoiding negativeimplications on further terminals and/or subscribers.

In some examples, one of the frequency bands 161, 162, 163 may bededicated to the communication of application transactions. I.e., insome examples, one of the frequency band 161, 162, 163 may be reservedfor transmission of such data units which comprise an applicationtransaction in their payload section. Then, it is possible to select theat least one frequency band for allocation of the radio resources whichis dedicated to the communication of application transactions. Byimplementing a dedicated frequency band 161, 162, 163 for communicationof application transactions, it is possible to assign communication ofapplication transactions with a high priority. Thereby, connectivity ofthe application associated with the application transactions can beprovided with a high QoS.

In other examples, it is also possible that the different frequencybands 161, 162 are not dedicated to the communication of applicationtransactions. I.e., in some examples it is possible that transmission ofdata units comprising, both, application transactions and other payloaddata in the respective payload sections is implemented on each one ofthe available frequency bands 161, 162, 163. In particular, such animplementation can be feasible where CA is not implemented and a singlefrequency band is available for transmission of data units.

Summarizing, examples are described which enable to control allocationof the radio resources 406 for transmission of the at least one dataunit 300 for compliance of the communication of the applicationtransaction 310 with the transaction service agreement; in the examples,this can be achieved by monitoring scheduling and/or link adaptationbased on a transmission service agreement 151 and, if necessary,actively overriding scheduling and/or link adaptation by allocating theradio resources 406 based on the specified time unit 501 and the bitrate constraint 570. Thereby, a trade-off between conventionalscheduling and/or link adaptation and compliance with the transactionservice agreement 500 can be achieved.

In a scenario where the radio resources 406 are actively allocated,different strategies are conceivable for ensuring compliance with thetransaction service agreement 500. An example is locally optimizing theallocation of the radio resources 406 for the at least one data unit 300based on the specified time unit 501 and the bit rate constraint 570. Alocal optimization can correspond to an optimization with respect tocompliance with the transaction service agreement 500 for each instanceof an application transaction 310. In other words, the localoptimization can be different to an on-average compliance with thetransaction service agreement 500 where only over an ensemble ofapplication transactions 310 compliance is achieved, i.e., on average.In particular, the local optimization may be independent of transmissionof further subscribers/terminals in shared radio resources. By suchtechniques of local optimization, it is possible to facilitatecompliance with the transaction service agreement 500 for everyapplication transaction 310. In particular, buffer resources can bepro-actively allocated to facilitate this compliance. Thereby, it ispossible to hedge against unpredictable events that cannot be easilycompensated for such as a large amount of high priority traffic, a largenumber of terminals temporarily roaming to the eNB 112, connectivitycuts of the eNB 112, antenna failures, etc.

FIG. 9 is a signaling diagram illustrating aspects with respect totransmission of at least one data unit 300. First, the at least one dataunit 300 arrives at the eNB 112, e.g., from the SGW 117 along the bearer150. After a certain processing delay 701, the eNB 112 transmits the atleast one data unit. Transmission of the at least one data unit 300require a certain duration 702 due to propagation delay. The at leastone data unit 300 is received by the terminal 130; after a certainprocessing delay 701, the application transaction 310 comprised in theat least one data unit 300 is available to the application layer 280.

The overall latency 750 is thus a sum of processing delays 701 and thepropagation delay 702. The overall latency 750 and/or individuallatencies 701, 702 can be taken into account when controlling theallocation of the radio resources 406 for compliance of thecommunication of the application transaction 310 with the transactionservice agreement 500. In particular, in a scenario where thetransaction service agreement 500 specifies a guaranteed number ofsuccessfully completed communications of application transactions 310via the radio link 111 per time unit 501, the overall latency 750 can betaken into account. E.g., making reference to the FIGS. 7, 8A, 8B, whenallocating the radio resources 406 and/or when monitoring schedulingand/or link adaptation, a time offset corresponding to the overalllatency 750 can be considered. By considering the latency 701, 702, 750,a more accurate transaction service agreement 500 can be definedspecifying the guaranteed number of successfully completedcommunications of application transactions 310 per time unit 501.

FIG. 10 is a signaling diagram illustrating aspects with respect toprovisioning the transaction service agreement 500 at the eNB 112.

Control message 1001: the control message 1001 includes operationalproperties of the transaction service agreement 500, e.g., comprisingelements selected from the group comprising: performancecharacteristics; constraints; time dependencies of performancecharacteristics and/or constraints; detection scheme. By means of thecontrol message 1001 the operator defines the transaction serviceagreement 500 or a plurality of transaction service agreements 500 thatshall be supported by the cellular network 100. The eNB 112 is informedaccordingly by means of the control message 1001.

It is possible that the control message 1001 optionally comprisesinformation on the techniques used for identifying applicationtransactions comprised in payload sections of data units, i.e., thedetection scheme. E.g., where a plurality of transaction serviceagreements are supported by the network, each transaction serviceagreement may be associated with one or more detection schemes.

Where transaction service agreements are to be implemented in theplurality of eNBs (in FIG. 10 only a single eNB 112 is illustrated) itis possible that different transaction service agreements areimplemented in different eNBs. It is also possible that the type ofdetection scheme differs for different eNBs. E.g., an eNB installed in afactory may have a different transaction service agreement 500implemented if compared to an eNB belonging to a macro network.Likewise, in eNB installed in a factory may have a different detectionscheme implemented if compared to an eNB belonging to a macro network.

Control message 1002: the operator ties each transaction serviceagreement 500 to a provisioning mechanism. The control message 1002 isindicative of the provisioning mechanism. The provisioning mechanismallows the eNB 112 to detect whether a respective terminal registeringto the eNB 112 is subject to a specific transaction service agreement.E.g., at 1002, a respective control message may indicate value selectedfrom the group comprising: terminal IP address; backend IP address;bearer ID; and/or subscriber identification such as International MobileSubscriber Identity (IMSI) or International Mobile Station EquipmentIdentity (IMEI); etc. E.g., identifying of the application transaction310 may be selectively executed depending on at least one of theidentification of the bearer 150 associated with a subscriber and usedfor transmitting the at least one data unit 300 and an identification ofthe subscriber. E.g., where the bearer ID of the bearer 150 correspondsto the bearer ID specified by the provisioning mechanism indicated bythe control message 1002, it can be judged that the subscriber orterminal 130 is generally eligible for a transaction service agreement500. E.g., where the IMSI or IMEI of the terminal 130 corresponds to theIMSI or IMEI specified by the provisioning mechanism indicated by thecontrol message 1002, it can be judged that the subscriber or terminal130 is generally eligible for a transaction service agreement 500.

Control message 1003: the operator provisions the bearer and subscriberprofiles subject to a transaction service agreement 500 to the PCRF 119.1003 is optional. Here, it is possible to tie the transaction serviceagreement 500 to a bearer or subscriber profile. Thereby, provisioningof the transaction service agreement 500 to the respective eNB by thePCRF 119 and/or a Home Subscriber Server (HSS) is possible in case offuture (re-)attachments of the terminal 130.

FIG. 11 is a signaling diagram illustrating aspects with respect toestablishing the data bearer 150.

Control messages 1011, 1012: the terminal 130 initiates registrationwith the network 100. Here, the terminal 130 requests attachment, e.g.,as part of the random access procedure or a RRC connection establishmentprocedure (attach procedure). The eNB 112 forwards this request to theMME 116. The MME 116 informs other parts of the operator's network (notshown in FIG. 11) about the registration attempt of the terminal 130. Atthis stage of the process, the eNB 112 is unaware whether the terminal130 has capabilities of communicating application transactions and/orwhether the terminal 130 is eligible for communication under atransaction service agreement.

Control message 1013: the MME 116 requests the eNB 112 to attach theterminal 130 to the network 100. A corresponding control message mayinclude an indication of the bearer 150, e.g., the bearer ID, and thesubscriber profile indicated by the subscriber profile ID (SPID) to beused for the connection. The eNB 112 inspects the bearer and subscriberprofile based on the information received at 1002. If the eNB 112 judgesthat the bearer and subscriber profile are associated with a transactionservice agreement according to the provisioning mechanism, the eNB 112marks that the traffic to and from the terminal 130 on the correspondingbearer is to be handled according to the respective transaction serviceagreement.

Control messages 1014, 1015: the eNB 112 then establishes the bearersrequired to support the QCI and informs the terminal 130 that the attachrequest has been accepted. The terminal 130 confirms this.

Control messages 1016-1018: the eNB 112 informs the MME 116 that thebearer has been established and that the terminal 130 has completed theattach procedure.

Transmission 1019: it is then possible for the terminal 130 to transmitdata units 150 towards the backend 140 and receive data units 150 fromthe backend 140. Transmission of data units 150 is via the PGW 118 (cf.FIG. 1A) and along the data bearer 150. The eNB 112 is configured toidentify application transactions comprised in payload sections of thedata units. This identifying is in conformity with the detectionmechanism that is associated with the respective transaction serviceagreement. E.g., depending on the particular detection mechanism, theeNB 112 may use DPI and/or SPI to determine if the IP address of thebackend 140 in combination with the IP address of the terminal 130 areassociated with the transaction service agreement. In the affirmative,the eNB 112 can control allocation of radio resources 406 fortransmission of the respective data units 300 on the radio link 111. TheeNB 112 may mark that the respective traffic shall be handled accordingto the transaction service agreement.

FIG. 12 illustrates aspects with respect to identifying the applicationtransaction 310 comprised in the payload section 302 of at least onedata unit 300. In the example of FIG. 12, explicit control signalingindicates the start of a transaction. In detail, at 1021, thetransaction backend 140 informs the operator 171 that a transaction isabout to start. At 1022, the operator 171 informs the eNB 112 about theupcoming transaction. E.g., a control message of 1022 may be implementedon the O&M interface. The O&M interface can be an interface used foradministrative procedures. The O&M interface can be separated from thedata plane and control plane interfaces, i.e., S1-U and S1-C for 3GPPLTE. The O&M interface may be flexibly specified in order to implement1022. The control message 1022 is indicative of the at least one dataunit 300. E.g., the control message 1022 may include a sequence numberof fragment number etc. of the at least one data unit 300. Thereby, theeNB 112 can identify the application transaction 310.

FIG. 13 illustrates aspects with respect to identifying the applicationtransaction 310 comprised in the payload section 302 of at least onedata unit 300. In the example of FIG. 13, packet inspection is employedin order to identify the application transaction 310. A correspondingdata unit is communicated as part of the transmission 1031. At 1032, theeNB 112 performs packet inspection in order to identify the applicationtransaction 310 comprised in the payload section 302 of the data unitcommunicated as part of 1031, e.g., DPI and/or SPI. The eNB 112 inspectsat least one of the header section 301 and the payload section 302 ofthe at least one data unit 300. Here, the eNB 112 may detect a triggerpattern as a fingerprint of the application transaction 310 and thepayload section. The type of trigger pattern used can be part of thedefinition of the transaction service agreement 500 and may beprovisioned as part of the detection scheme. An example of a triggerpattern is receiving a single new byte on an UL channel from theterminal 130 or the backend 140 opening a new TCP connection.

Inspection of the data unit 1032 may also be with respect to in-linecontrol signaling: in particular, the backend 140 and/or the terminal130 may use explicit signals for control signaling on the applicationlayer 280. Such signals may be intercepted by the eNB 112. When suchin-line control signaling is detected, this may allow to identify theapplication transaction 310 which is about to be communicated. The typeof the in-line control signaling can be part of the transaction serviceagreement definition. The type of the in-line control signaling may beprovisioned as part of the detection scheme.

In the scenario of FIG. 13, it is possible that the transmission 1031 isan uplink transmission form the terminal 130 to the eNB 112. Here, it ispossible that a first part of the application transaction, e.g., a firstdata unit, is identified at 1032 only after its transmission at 1031,e.g., by employing DPI and/or SPI. Based on this, allocation of radioresources for further parts of the application transaction e.g., asecond data unit, can be controlled. E.g., the first part can correspondto a request message, while the second part can correspond to a responsemessage.

FIG. 14 illustrates aspects with respect to supervision of communicationof the application transaction.

Control message 1041 is indicative of at least one data unit 300comprising an application transaction 310. Here, the terminal 130indicates the upcoming communication of an application transaction 310to the eNB 112. E.g., the control message 1041 may comprise explicitcontrol signaling which includes a trigger pattern used by the eNB 112when identifying the application transaction 310. E.g., the controlmessage 1041 may comprise a UL request requesting for allocation ofradio resources on an UL shared channel for communication of at leastone data unit 300 comprising the application transaction 310 in thepayload section 302 thereof.

At 1042, the eNB 112 monitors the UL resource allocation. E.g., as partof 1042, radio resources 406 may be allocated to the terminal 130 whichensure fulfillment of the transaction service agreement 500 (cf. FIGS.7, 8A, 8B). It would also be possible to passively monitor whether theresource allocation according to standard scheduling based on atransmission service agreement 151 already fulfills the transactionservice agreement 500. An UL grant may be communicated from the eNB 112to the terminal 130, e.g., in a scenario in which dedicated grants areemployed. In case of semi-persistent scheduling an UL grant may also beexpendable if sufficient radio resources in order to fulfill thetransaction service agreement.

Transmission 1043: the at least one data unit 300 is transmitted fromthe terminal 130 to the eNB 112.

Transmission 1044: the at least one data unit received 300 from theterminal 130 at 1043 is relayed to the backend 140.

Transmission 1045: depending on the type of the application transaction,the backend 140 may respond by transmitting at least one data unit 300including a response associated with the application transaction 310previously communicated an UL direction.

At 1046, the eNB 112 monitors the DL resource allocation. E.g., as partof 1046, radio resources 406 may be allocated for DL transmission whichensure fulfillment of the transaction service agreement 500. It wouldalso be possible to passively monitor whether the resource allocationaccording to standard scheduling based on a transmission serviceagreement 151 already fulfills the transaction service agreement. A DLassignment may be communicated from the eNB 112 to the terminal 130,e.g., in a scenario where dedicated assignments are employed. In case ofsemi-persistent scheduling transmission of the DL assignment may beexpendable if sufficient radio resources are available in order tofulfill the transaction service agreement.

Transmission 1047: the eNB 112 relays the at least one data unit 300 inthe allocated DL radio resources to the terminal 130.

At 1048, the eNB 112 writes data indicative of executing thecommunication of the application transaction 310 to a log file. Based onthe log file, it is possible to conclude on whether communication ofapplication transactions 310 is in compliance with the transactionservice agreement. E.g., a success rate/failure rate may be determined.The log file may indicate features selected from the group comprising:size of the application transaction 310; time of communicating theapplication transaction 310; delay in communicating the applicationtransaction 310; etc.

In the various examples disclosed herein, charging functionality may beimplemented based on the log file. E.g., where communication of theapplication transaction is executed in compliance with the transactionservice agreement, a subscriber may be correspondingly charged, e.g.,according to a charging plan. E.g., to issue a certain number of lookuprequests in a backend database may cost a certain amount of money;charging can also be implemented based on incremental applicationtransactions.

Transmission 1049: the eNB 112 reports the fulfillment of thetransaction service agreement to the operator 171 periodically and/or onrequest by the operator. Here, the data indicative of executing of thecommunication of the application transaction 310 written to the log fileat 1048 may be taken into account.

FIG. 15 is a schematic illustration of the eNB 112. The eNB 112comprises a processor 1121. The processor 1121 is coupled with aninterface 1122 in the memory 1123, e.g., a non-volatile memory. Theinterface 1122 is configured to transmit at least one data unit 300using radio resources 406. The at least one data unit 300 may comprisean application transaction. The memory 1123 comprises controlinstructions that can be executed by the processor 1121. Executing thecontrol instructions can cause the processor 1121 to perform techniquesas described herein, e.g.: identifying an application transaction 310comprised in the payload section 302 of the at least one data unit 300;performing SPI and/or DPI; controlling allocation of radio resources406; monitoring scheduling and/or link adaptation; and allocating radioresources.

FIG. 16 is a schematic illustration of the terminal 130. The terminal130 comprises a processor 1301. The processor 1301 is coupled with aninterface 1302 and a memory 1303, e.g., a non-volatile memory. Theinterface 1302 is configured to transmit at least one data unit 300using radio resources 406. The at least one data unit 300 may comprisean application transaction 310. The memory 1303 comprises controlinstructions that can be executed by the processor 1301. Executing thecontrol instructions can cause the processor 1301 to perform techniquesas described herein, e.g.: identifying an application transaction 310comprised in the payload section 302 of the at least one data unit 300;performing SPI and/or DPI; controlling allocation of radio resources406; monitoring scheduling and/or link adaptation; and allocating radioresources.

FIG. 17 is a schematic illustration of a device 2800. The device 2800may be embodied by the eNB 112.

The device 2800 is enhanced with logic facilitating communication ofapplication transactions in compliance with the transaction serviceagreement 500. Such logic facilitates identifying an applicationtransaction 310 in the payload section 302 of at least one data unit300; e.g., the beginning and the end of an individual applicationtransaction 310 can be identified in a data flow of packetized data suchas the data bearer 150. By controlling allocation of radio resources fortransmission of the at least one data unit, communication of theapplication transaction in compliance with transaction service agreementcan be facilitated; e.g., certain success rate requirements and/orlatency requirements can be met.

The device 2800 comprises a module for identifying an applicationtransaction 2801, the application transaction 310 being comprised in apayload section 302 of at least one data unit 300. The module 2801 canalso be referred to as Transaction Detector (TD).

The device 2800 further comprises a module 2802 for controllingallocation of radio resources 406. The module 2802 can also be referredto as Transaction Supervisor (TS).

The device 2800 further comprises a module 2803 for transmitting the atleast one data unit 300 using the radio resources 406 allocated by themodule 2802.

The TD 2801 and the TS 2802 may interwork with a link adaptation andscheduling mechanism to ensure that application transactions 310communicated between the terminal 130 and the backend 160 meet thetransaction service agreement 500, i.e., are communicated in compliancewith the transaction service agreement 500. The TS 2802 may also beconfigured to measure the transaction volume and write to a log file towhich extent communication has been in compliance with the transactionservice agreement 500, e.g., resolved for each terminal 130 and/orresolve for each backend 160.

Considering that the terminal 130 having a transaction subscriptioncommunicates with the backend 160: e.g., the application transaction 310may comprise a 1 kB UL request from the terminal 130 followed by a 0.1kB DL response from the backend 160. Such an application transaction 310may be communicated once every second. It may be assumed that it isrequired that the response of each application transaction 310 isrequired to reach the terminal 113 within 100 ms from the start of theapplication transaction 310.

Then, the TD 2801 can be configured to identify application transactions310 in UL data units 300 transmitted from the terminal 130 and/or in DLdata units 300 transmitted from the backend 160. The TD 2801 identifyingan application transaction 310 informs the TS 2802 accordingly if thecorresponding terminal 130 is associated with the transaction serviceagreement 500. The TS 2802 is configured to look up the transactionservice agreement 500 for the terminal 130 and determine whether certainconstraints of the transaction service agreement 500 are met, i.e.,determine whether the application transaction 310 is eligible forcommunication under the transaction service agreement 500. In theaffirmative, the TS 2802 informs scheduling about the transmissionrequirements. In the example, the TS 2802 informs scheduling that thenext 1 kB of data are required to be transmitted on the UL channelwithin the next 50 ms and that the next 0.1 kB of DL data are requiredto be transmitted within 100 ms.

The scheduling adjusts the allocation of radio resources 406, if needed,for compliance with the transaction service agreement 500. Alternativelyor additionally, the scheduling adjusts link adaptation, if needed, forcompliance with the transaction service agreement 500. A success rate isreported back to the TS 2802. With respect to the success rate, a causefor a potential failure to communicate the application transaction 310in compliance with the transaction service agreement 500 can bereported. E.g., a distinction can be made whether compliance with thetransaction service agreement 500 has not been possible due to radioperformance/over-utilization; or the at least one data unit 300 arrivingto slowly from the terminal 130 of the backend 160.

Such control of application resources may also take advantage of thepossibility of delaying the application transaction 310, prioritizingother subscribers/terminals, as long as the application transaction 310is communicated in compliance with the transaction service agreement500.

The TS 2802 publishes a log file indicative of the fulfillment resultsof the transaction service agreement 500, e.g., to the operator 171, theeNB 112, or a subscriber associated with the terminal 130 and/or thebackend 160.

The TD 2801 and the TS 2802 can use a combination of the followingschemes for configuring a transaction service agreement 500. Frist,explicit terminal/backend provisioning on the O&M interface by anOperation Support System (OSS), e.g., via a local port connectiondirectly to the terminal and/or via an aggregator input/output node in aOSS/Business Support System (BSS) environment. E.g., it is possible toindicate an identification of the data bearer 150 associated with thesubscriber and used for transmitting the at least one data unit 300comprising the application transaction 310 and/or an identification ofthe subscriber/terminal 130 and/or an identification of the backend 160by a respective control message. Second, through bearer and subscriberprofile association configured advanced by the eNB O&M interface byOSS/BSS specifying the properties of the transaction service agreement500 that are associated with a certain data bearer in combination withany suitable terminal 130 assigned subscriber profile information.

The TD 2801 can use different detection schemes for identifyingapplication transactions 310. The detection scheme can be configurableby the operator 171 on the O&M interface. In a first example of adetection scheme, explicit and on-demand control signaling is employedat the beginning and/or end of an application transaction 310. Thecontrol signaling can be between the backend 160 and the eNB 112, e.g.,via the operator 171 and on the O&M interface. In a second example of adetection scheme, on-the-flight DPI of the payload sections 302 of dataunits 300 of the user plane is performed. Thereby, the start of anapplication transaction 310 can be identified, e.g., by identifying anIP datagram arriving or a TCP session being set up. Third, throughexplicit user plane signaling between the backend 160 and the terminal130 indicating the start of an application transaction 310. This cancorrespond to detecting in-line control signaling of the applicationlayer.

The legacy bearer selection can be used in order to determine theparticular data bearer 150 used for transmitting the at least one dataunit 300 comprising the application transaction 310. The data bearer 150selected may thus be the default bearer or a dedicated bearer.

FIG. 18 is a flowchart of a method according to various embodiments. At3001, an application transaction 310 is identified. At 3001, one or moredetection schemes can be employed, e.g., including DPI and/or SPI,detection of in-line control signaling, or explicit control signaling,e.g., between the eNB 112 and the backend 140, optionally via theoperator 171.

At 3002, allocation of radio resources 406 is controlled. The radioresources 406 are used for transmission of the at least one data unit300 which comprises the application transaction 310. 3002 may comprisepassive and/or active steps.

E.g., at 3002, it is possible to monitor scheduling and/or linkadaptation for a shared channel of the radio link 111; here, it ispossible to take into account whether scheduling and/or link adaptationyield allocated radio resources which already enable communication ofthe application transaction 310 in compliance with the transactionservice agreement 500. At 3002, it is possible to take into account linkadaptation and/or scheduling which is executed based on the transmissionservice agreement 151.

Alternatively or additionally, at 3002, it is possible to activelyallocated radio resources 406 which enable communication of theapplication transaction 310 in compliance with the transaction serviceagreement 500. Controlling allocation of the radio resources 406 at 3002can take into account a bit rate constraint 570 of the transmissionservice agreement 151 associated with the terminal 130 and/or asubscriber of the terminal 130. Alternatively or additionally,controlling allocation of the radio resources 406 at 3002 can take intoaccount a size of the at least one data unit 300 which comprises theapplication transaction 310.

At 3003, communication of the application transaction is executed bytransmitting the at least one data unit 300 using the radio resources406 previously allocated at 3002.

FIG. 19 is a flowchart of a method according to various embodiments.FIG. 19 illustrates details of identifying the application transaction310 in the payload section 302 of at least one data unit 300.

At 3011, it is checked whether the bearer ID used for transmission ofthe at least one data unit 300 and/or the IMSI/IMEI associated with theterminal 130 and/or a subscriber of the terminal 130 are generallyeligible for the transaction service agreement 500. If this is not thecase, it is judged that the at least one data unit 300 is not subject tothe transaction service agreement 500 (labeled TSA in FIG. 19), 3015.

Otherwise, at 3012, it is checked whether the IP address of the terminal130 and/or the IP address of the backend 160 indicate the presence of anapplication transaction 310. For the purposes of 3012, SPI can beperformed and the header section 301 of the at least one data unit 300can be inspected.

If, based on 3012, an application transaction 310 is already identified,it is judged that the respective at least one data unit is subject tothe transaction service agreement 500, 3014.

Otherwise, at 3013, the payload section 302 of the at least one dataunit 300 is inspected. Here, the payload section 302 can be inspectedfor a trigger pattern. For the purposes of 3013, DPI can be employed.

If, based on 3013, an application transaction 310 is identified, it isjudged that the respective at least one data unit 300 is subject to thetransaction service agreement 500, 3014. Otherwise, it is judged thatthe at least one data unit 300 is not subject to the transaction serviceagreement 500, 3015.

Summarizing, above techniques have been described which enable tocontrol allocation of radio resources based on identifying applicationtransactions in payload sections of data units. Thereby, a link betweenotherwise encapsulated higher and lower layers of a protocol stack canbe implemented, allowing to facilitate connectivity of an application byconsidering individual application transactions.

In particular, a link can be established between lower layers typicallydelivering performance characteristics in terms of on-average bits persecond in the framework of a GBR, and higher layers typically requiringperformance characteristics in terms of individual applicationtransactions.

The techniques described herein avoid the need of implementingoverprovisioning. Thereby, the overall performance characteristics of aradio link can benefit. On the other hand, it is possible to commit to acertain transaction service agreement specifying guarantees for asubscriber communicating application transactions.

Committing to the transaction service agreement becomes possible bymonitoring and influencing scheduling and/or link adaptation for dataunits comprising application transactions.

By means of a transaction service agreement, it is possible to enhanceexisting radio communication systems such as cellular network with newapplication transaction-based capabilities. Thereby, infrastructureinvestment in the radio spectrum can be protected. Furthermore,operators can offer to charge flexibly with respect to applicationtransactions. Various transaction service agreements can be implementedflexibly. Radio utilization costs can be managed for applicationtransaction-based services. Overprovisioning can be avoided. Subscribersare enable to use radio communication for communicating applicationtransactions with well-defined performance characteristics. Expensivewireline equipment and infrastructure can be avoided.

Although the invention has been shown and described with respect tocertain preferred embodiments, equivalents and modifications will occurto others skilled in the art upon the reading and understanding of thespecification. The present invention includes all such equivalents andmodifications and is limited only by the scope of the appended claims.

E.g., while above various examples have been discussed with respect toDL data units, respective scenarios may be readily applied for UL dataunits.

The invention claimed is:
 1. A method, comprising: identifying anapplication transaction comprised in a payload section of at least onedata unit; in response to identifying the application transaction,controlling allocation of radio resources for transmission of the atleast one data unit on a radio link according to a service requirementfor the identified transaction; and executing communication of theapplication transaction via the radio link by transmitting the at leastone data unit using the radio resources.
 2. The method of claim 1,wherein the controlling of the allocation of the radio resources is forcompliance of the communication of the application transaction with atransaction service agreement.
 3. The method of claim 2, wherein thetransaction service agreement specifies a guaranteed number of executedcommunications of application transactions via the radio link per timeunit.
 4. The method of claim 3, wherein the transaction serviceagreement specifies a guaranteed number of successfully completedcommunications of application transactions via the radio link per timeunit.
 5. The method of claim 3, wherein the transaction serviceagreement specifies the time unit.
 6. The method of claim 2, wherein thetransaction service agreement specifies: a size constraint for candidateapplication transactions; a timing constraint for candidate applicationtransactions; a number constraint for candidate applicationtransactions; and/or an overusage criterion for temporarily breaching aconstraint for candidate application transactions.
 7. The method ofclaim 1, wherein the controlling of allocation of the radio resourcesdepends on a size of the at least one data unit and a bit rateconstraint, the bit rate constraint being specified by a transmissionservice agreement for transmission of the at least one data unit on abearer.
 8. The method of claim 7, wherein the controlling of allocationof the radio resources selectively breaches the bit rate constraintdepending on a traffic load on a shared channel of the radio link whichcomprises the radio resources.
 9. The method of claim 5: wherein thecontrolling of allocation of the radio resources depends on a size ofthe at least one data unit and a bit rate constraint, the bit rateconstraint being specified by a transmission service agreement fortransmission of the at least one data unit on a bearer; wherein thecontrolling of allocation of the radio resources selectively breachesthe bit rate constraint depending on a traffic load on a shared channelof the radio link which comprises the radio resources; wherein thecontrolling of the allocation of the radio resources comprisesallocating the radio resources based on the specified time unit and thebit rate constraint.
 10. The method of claim 9, further comprising:selecting at least one frequency band from a plurality of candidatefrequency bands, wherein the radio resources are allocated in theselected at least one frequency band.
 11. The method of claim 10,wherein the selected at least one frequency band is dedicated tocommunication of application transactions.
 12. The method of claim 9,wherein the allocating of the radio resources comprises locallyoptimizing the allocation of the radio resources for the at least onedata unit based on the specified time unit and the bit rate constraint.13. The method of claim 1, wherein the controlling of the allocation ofthe radio resources comprises monitoring scheduling for a shared channelof the radio link which comprises the radio resources.
 14. The method ofclaim 1, further comprising writing data indicative of the executing ofthe communication of the application transaction to a log file.
 15. Themethod of claim 1, wherein the identifying of the applicationtransaction comprises inspecting at least one of a header section of theat least one data unit and the payload section of the at least one dataunit for a predefined data pattern.
 16. The method of claim 1, whereinthe identifying of the application transaction comprises receiving acontrol message comprising an indicator indicative of the at least onedata unit.
 17. The method of claim 1, wherein the identifying of theapplication transaction is selectively executed depending on at leastone of: an identification of a bearer associated with a subscriber andused for transmitting the at least one data unit; and an identificationof the subscriber.
 18. The method of claim 1, wherein the applicationtransaction comprises an HTTP operation.
 19. A device, comprising:processing circuitry; memory containing instructions executable by theprocessing circuitry whereby the device is operative to: identify anapplication transaction comprised in a payload section of at least onedata unit; in response to the identifying the application transaction,control allocation of radio resources for transmission of the at leastone data unit on a radio link according to a service requirement for theidentified transaction; and execute communication of the applicationtransaction via the radio link by transmitting the at least one dataunit using the radio resources.
 20. A non-transitory computer readablerecording medium storing a computer program product for controlling adevice, the computer program product comprising software instructionswhich, when run on processing circuitry of the device, causes the deviceto: identify an application transaction comprised in a payload sectionof at least one data unit; in response to the identifying theapplication transaction, control allocation of radio resources fortransmission of the at least one data unit on a radio link according toa service requirement for the identified transaction; and executecommunication of the application transaction via the radio link bytransmitting the at least one data unit using the radio resources.